One of the worst things you can do in this constantly ever-changing world is to keep a standstill. Keep your eyes around and observe. Everything is changing, and even in the marketing world, everything moves and changes quickly. If you are a starter in the marketing world, it is crucial to learn this realm and adapt to the changes right away while capitalizing on new emerging opportunities.
Let’s just say it is all about your brand, and it’s a must to have what it takes to stand out from the rest. Hence, it is important to have knowledge and expertise in branding. A branding strategy, also known as a brand development strategy, is a long-term plan to achieve a series of goals that ultimately result in your target construction clients’ preference and identification of your brand.
In 2023, there is a surge of technological trends that will reshape both branding and marketing strategies forever. And you have to know them all. Suppose you are just starting your branding strategy. In that case, it is vital to incorporate these latest trends into your current strategy – to be on edge and relevant in today’s market and finally to become the top choice of your main audience.
1. The transition towards community-driven branding
You have probably heard today’s latest buzzword, “community-driven branding.” This term refers to a major shift in marketing strategy where brands focus less and less on spreading their message and instead focus more on establishing relationships with their clients. While building relationships does not happen overnight, it has proven to be one of the biggest branding trends this year.
Here are some of the best reasons why this particular branding trend will hold so much importance this 2023 and in upcoming years:
- Influencer marketing paves the way for an online community where popular individuals can promote products. As a result, brands no longer rely on the usual traditional marketing ways like Radio and print. Today, taking advantage of the newest social media channels is the next big thing, allowing more personalized interaction with people.
- Community building is more important than ever because of the increasing demand for brand awareness, transparency, and authenticity.
As these trends continue gaining momentum, expect them to be too powerful when done correctly. So, now is your time to take advantage of these trends and do not allow yourself to be left behind.
2. The need for purpose-driven and sustainable marketing
In a broader sense, marketing is such a powerful force that it has already been known to impact how people think, perceive, and decide. Brands are increasingly making real efforts to leverage their power for their image and reputation. Yet, brands and companies are still struggling to find the best ways to do it. If your brand is new, you are probably in a challenging situation.
Another latest trend we are going to discuss today is purpose-driven marketing. This trend integrates community building with brand advocacy. This transition allows your brand to grow loyal followings by emotionally connecting with your target customers who are simply looking for brands that align best with their values (sustainability, social accountability, and diversity).
While this trend continues to emerge and gain popularity, you need to understand how it truly works and how you can harness its true potential for the benefit of your construction brand.
3. The domination of TikTok and short-form videos
If you are always on social media, you know by now that short-form videos are the biggest trend and significantly become the norm. TikTok, YouTube shorts, and Instagram Reels dominate social media feeds – all capturing people’s attention.
There is no doubt that this format will only grow more in the following years. So, if you haven’t tried any of these formats, now is the perfect time to create and post short-form videos. Watch TikTok and reels to get a feel for the format. This will also help you find the right content and appeal to your main audience.
4. The Creator World
We previously mentioned influencer marketing above. Last year, influencer marketing was picking up steam, and just by 2023, we now understand why. Many marketers and business owners are now collaborating with the biggest influencers, and there is one big reason why – it further expands brand awareness and acquires more attention and following directly from the influencer’s audience.
Never miss the opportunity to partner with the best influencers in the market. Take it slowly. You can start by investing in influencer marketing and work first with micro-influencers. These influencers may have smaller following (around thousands to tens of thousands of followers); however, their social media posts often have a strong punch because of their high-level engagement.
5. The rise of AI and marketing automation
While there are fears about Artificial Intelligence (AI)and its capability, there are a lot of strong opinions about it, proving that it will not lead to the replacement of humans. It makes more human tasks and activities more manageable, efficient, and better. This technology frees up time for more work and creative planning.
As of now, AI has been slowly integrated into marketing. And its implementation is just starting to take off. In the future, we are going to see more use cases like the following below:
- AI is being utilized as a creative online tool alongside humans.
- A chatbot automates tedious tasks like collecting customer feedback and answering questions and inquiries about products/ services.
- Robots take over basic tasks such as resizing formats and proofreading. This allows people to focus more on other highly prioritized work.
6. Data-driven decision making
Data-driven decision-making is a necessity for all brands. You must understand your customers, their preferences, needs, and wants, including how they interact with your brand. The data you gather can be very helpful when you develop marketing campaigns that are more personalized, effective, and relevant.
So, if you want to have an edge and be on top of the latest branding and marketing trends, pay attention to the latest updates in data science. When your construction company embraces machine learning and AI, expect to see an increase in your data-driven decision-making process.
7. The great potential of AR and VR
With the popularity of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, these new technologies are becoming easily accessible to the general public.
If you are curious, the main difference between these two is that AR augments your environment with information, while VR, on the other hand, creates a new immersive experience. Both new forms of technologies have their respective niche market. However, they are also applicable to other business models like B2B and B2C types of business.
To date, AR/VR technologies are being implemented in big construction companies. Over time, these technologies cut building costs by up to 90 percent and save the sector up to $15.8 billion.
8. The Metaverse – the rise of a virtual communication world
In 2022, the metaverse has caused a stir and is projected to continue in the upcoming years. Today, big brands are eyeing a metaverse strategy and have been deeply understanding its role in the new era of immersive virtual worlds.
In the years to come, expect many major brands to be in the metaverse. It is time to be prepared for this upcoming world and craft strategies fitting to this new technology.
9. More brands will use SEO to gain search traffic
While Search engine optimization is no longer new, it is still becoming more rooted and associated with modern-day digital marketing strategies.
If you own a website dedicated to your construction business, invest in SEO. You can simply start making sure your website’s content and pages are all discoverable by search engines like Google. It is important that you seriously invest in this strategy. It is reported that 84% of marketers will continue using SEO in 2023 and the upcoming years.
Grab all opportunities you can take under SEO and leverage other ways. Under SEO is Local SEO, which targets keywords with the main intention of being searchable in the local area. By following local search engine optimization best practices, your construction company can improve organic traffic from searches performed by your target customers in the nearby areas.
Take Your Branding Strategy to the Next Level with ConstructionMarketing.io
Overall, the future of branding and digital marketing is looking bright. And if you simply have a goal for your construction business, change and adaptation is necessary. If you want to stay ahead of the game and always be updated on the latest trends with minimal effort, you can partner with us.
ConstrucitonMarketing.io is a trusted full-service construction marketing company offering various marketing solutions. And when we say full-service, we mean a full circle of digital marketing services – from SEO, social media, website development and design, you name it.
We have a strong background in construction. So, we know the ins and outs of the sector. And now that construction is openly welcoming the world of digital marketing, we will be helping you in taking the best approach. We specialize in developing lead acquisition strategies and implementing brand strategies for construction businesses. We can craft the best strategy tailored to your branding and marketing needs.